This blog Haiti Solutions supports the growth of political and economic freedom, good governance and human rights in Haiti by educating Haitian citizens, parties and governments on the values and practices of democracy.

It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light

Mwen se echantiyon yon ras kap boujonnen men ki poko donnen

Si vous voulez vous faire des ennemis essayer de changer les choses

Thursday, December 13, 2012

The Martelly Administration has broken from the past 40 years of corrupt governance in many important ways. Reassessing Haiti’s standing in the world, particularly in light of the global response to the 2010 earthquake, was critical to addressing Haiti’s challenges. Mismanagement of the country for decades has plunged Haiti into crushing poverty resulting in a necessary reliance on the international community for provision of basic goods and services. The Haitian budget is 65% international aid. For Haiti, getting its foreign policy on a strong and balanced footing is a critical but immense challenge.

Where do we look for inspiration on reframing our foreign policy? I looked to Toussaint Louverture, Haiti’s first global diplomatic and strategic thinker. His approach changing the course of the world by establishing the first black republic and made him one of the top unsung heroes of his era. I also looked to Jean Jacques Dessalines, who was imitated by Napoleon Bonaparte according to Chateaubriand.

This overview, which was prepared for the Martelly Administration, business and NGO leaders in October 2011, covers the range of issues—from conceptual to practical—provides the basis for a new framework for Haiti’s 21st century foreign policy teachers and students at Haiti’s international school, INAGHEI.

I. Historic Context

The Republic of Haiti has a remarkable and extraordinary history of championing freedom and liberty worldwide. Since earning independence in 1804, the Haitian nation has risen to the defense of these principles wherever they were threatened domestically or internationally. Whether it was securing victory over a colonial power, supporting the independence movement in South America, joining the fight against apartheid, protecting the Jews from the threat of the Nazi regime, or fighting along side American revolutionaries in Savannah, Georgia, Haiti has made an indelible historic contribution to the cause of freedom and liberty worldwide.

Over the past 40 years, however, Haiti’s foreign policy has not met the high standards set forth by our founding fathers. A pattern of corrupt and failed leadership has resulted in a foreign policy that has been non-strategic, reactive, ad hoc, and uncoordinated. Foreign policy institutions – along with all government institutions – were kept weak. In the absence of functional institutions, foreign policy has either followed the whims and personal agendas of those in power or has been defined by other countries. In fact, our nation’s security has been dominated by the United Nation’s MINUSTAH force, whose presence technically is a violation of our constitution and national sovereignty.

Internationally, Haiti’s reputation suffered greatly as a result of failed leadership leading many to conclude that we are a failed state. Our importance globally diminished, and we are perceived as a non-factor in prevailing global dynamics, such as the war on terror, the global financial crisis, environmental preservation, and trade matters. Quite simply, Haiti has been marginalized and it is our fault. For the past three decades we did not seize on the foreign policy opportunities as leaders were focused on personal enrichment versus building up the country.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been only nominally in charge of foreign policy. While staffed by many competent and dedicated individuals, only 32% of the personnel working there are qualified for their positions. For 40 years, it functioned more reactively on policy issues rather than informing and implementing our nation’s foreign policy agenda. Our Embassies, Missions and Consulates around the world have operated with little instruction or guidance. To advance our foreign agenda, these institutions must serve as our nation’s emissaries while providing the necessary intelligence, reporting and analysis to support and inform crucial policy decisions.

Under the Martelly Administration, Haiti should reclaim its national sovereignty and define our foreign policy and agenda. Haiti's foreign policy should be reoriented to defend our national interests and to seek economic opportunity. We must strengthen our foreign policy institutions and leave behind a legacy of a functioning state for the next Administration breaking the cycle of failed leadership. Above all, we must restore our reputation as defenders of liberty and freedom worldwide as set forth by our brave founders, Jacques Dessalines and Toussaint Louverture.

II. Principle-Based Policy

Three cardinal principles should underpin the policy and diplomacy of the Martelly Government.

Promotion and Defense of Freedom and Human Dignity Worldwide. Haiti was founded upon the principles of freedom and human dignity when in 1804 our forefathers overthrew a colonial power to achieve freedom from slavery making Haiti the world’s first black republic. In keeping with our proud history, we must champion, support and defend freedom and liberty worldwide. This principle will serve as the foundation upon which all foreign – and domestic – policy is conceived.

Safeguard the National Interests and Sovereignty of Haiti. Haiti will reclaim its ability to defend its borders from external threats. As such, Haiti will establish a National Defense Force in the interest of defending the borders and supporting our nation in times of disaster. The United Nations force, known as MINUSTAH, is technically an occupation of our country and a violation of our national sovereignty. We should work with the United Nations to redefine our Framework of Cooperation to drawdown their forces in a timely manner and encourage those resources to be channeled into our new National Defense Force.

Support for Our Allies. Haiti has strategically important allies throughout the world. We have heavily relied upon the support of the international community for aid and provision of social services. In fact, foreign aid comprises 65% of our national budget. Where our interests align, we must actively support and engage our allies positioning Haiti as a trusted ally and champion of freedom. In support of this principle, our Defense Force will build strategic partnerships with our allies ensuring that all allies understand the purpose for the new force.

III. Foreign Policy Objectives

The principles of our foreign policy as defined above will ground our policy decisions in universal morals. The objectives of our foreign policy, as set forth below, define our national interests.

Restore Haiti’s Reputation Globally. Haiti’s dismal internal economic and social situation can hardly escape influencing international public opinion. To restore and then sustain our national reputation, the Haitian government must transform internally. Only by putting our own house in order will we regain international recognition and respect. It is critical that we restore our reputation; otherwise, the international community will lack the confidence to engage with us on critical development issues such as investment, trade relationships and other international priorities.

Reclaim National Sovereignty: As discussed in Section II.2, we will work to reclaim our national sovereignty. The UN mission has not met expectations and in fact has become somewhat destabilizing in our country. We are facing imminent external threats from drug traffickers and gangs as well as the Dominican Republic’s aggressive bolstering of its military capability. Further, after the earthquake, we ceded control of our ports and airports as well as responsibility for stabilizing our country and recovery and rescue efforts to the US military. This is not sustainable in the long term. We need a professional defense force to reinforce and restore sovereignty while meeting these challenges. While we wish to reclaim sovereignty, we are equally committed to cooperating fully with our regional and global allies in the development of the defense force. Internationally, countries will need to understand that the Defense Force is not a threat externally or domestically, rather it is intended to address the issues outlined above.

Balance and Diversify Global Partnerships. We will strengthen relationships with our traditional – and core – allies, namely the United States, Venezuela, Chile, Argentina, Dominican Republic, France, Canada, Japan, Germany, Brazil, China, South Korea, Senegal, Benin, Israel, Nigeria, Madagascar, Rwanda and Puerto Rico. These partners, however, are accustomed to working with a weak and corrupt government that has been unable – or uninterested – in leading our country. We have relied too heavily upon our traditional allies, which can contribute to “donor fatigue” and their proclivity to define our national agenda. Most recently, we were dependent upon the United States to set up our bilateral meetings during the United Nations General Assembly and donors meetings. And again, only by getting our own house in order will we achieve better balance to these key relationships. To be sure, our traditional allies are our friends; however, we need to transition these relationships from old dependency dynamics into new partnerships.

Additionally, we must diversify our relationships. There are several countries that are emerging as global leaders for the 21st Century, namely the BRICS (Brazil, India, Russia – to a lesser extent – and China). We have limited relationships with these emerging powers and must address that foreign policy shortcoming. Therefore, we must capitalized on the opportunity to build relationships with developing countries that may have more similar economic and social conditions and from which we may be able to draw more relevant expertise and lessons learned.

Actively Seek Support for the Socio-Economic Development of Haiti. Given our current level of economic development, we will remain largely reliant upon foreign aid for at least another decade. Therefore, our foreign policy should align with our domestic social and economic development policy. The President has defined the 5Es: Education, Employment, Etat de Droit, Environment and Energy. Our foreign policy should reinforce all of these domestic priorities by seeking funding and technical support for the 5Es from international partners.

Additionally, we must promote investment in our economy in order to create jobs and economic development. Haiti must initiate a market-oriented diplomacy to actively seek and convince investors around the world that we are serious and that our country is open for business. The global economic downturn and the upward trend of manufacturing giants, such as China, can be an opportunity for developing countries such as Haiti. Demand for low cost products and a need for lower cost labor (as China’s labor costs rise) gives an advantage to countries, such as Haiti. Our foreign – and domestic policy – must be aimed at positioning Haiti to maximize these opportunities and make us competitive against other economies that will be competing for the same opportunities, namely Bangladesh and Vietnam. Further, both South Korea and Colombia are poised to sign Free Trade Agreements with the US increasing their market access. Tourism, services and other financial tools must be considered to make our country more attractive for such advantageous trade agreements. That strategy must be seen as a win-win prospective for both investors and the citizens of the country.

Professionalize our Foreign Service. Without a strong Foreign Service, none of our objectives will be met. Active and effective diplomacy will be the single greatest factor in ensuring that we meet of objectives and benchmarks. Our Foreign Service members are dedicated individuals, but they have had limited resources, direction and support from Port-au-Prince. But currently only 32% of our Foreign Service personnel are qualified. We must train and recruit the brightest. We must build capacity within our foreign policy institutions and develop coordination mechanisms to ensure that we are presenting a coherent and consistent representation of our foreign policy goals and agenda.

IV. Organization & Coordination

To ensure the effective implementation and refinement of our policy, it will be necessary to: 1. Reorganize the Ministry of Foreign Affairs so that it can meet the challenges of the 21st century and accurately represent the priorities of the President of the Republic; 2. Review and codify operational and personnel procedures; 3. Conduct a top-to-bottom review of current agreements and, 4. Standardize our missions overseas.

1. Reorganization of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: The Ministry should be streamlined and reorganized into three main divisions:

Regional Affairs: Create bureaus to cover five main regions – Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, and North Africa and the Middle East.

Multilateral Institutions: Create bureaus to cover six main multilateral institutions – United Nations, Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), CARICOM, the Organization of American States (OAS), the African Union, and the European Union.

A new organizational chart should be developed and a new organic law should be prepared by the Ministry to codify and illustrate the reorganization. The new law should be presented as soon as possible to parliament.

Awaiting broader institutional reforms that will strengthen our government to meet the challenges of the 21st century the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will remain the instrument for the management of foreign policy, but it will be important to ensure broad coordination throughout the Administration. In this regard, the Ministry of Planning and External Cooperation, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Haitians Living Abroad will work together to establish an inter-ministry coordination mechanism.

2. The following actions will be taken in support of reviewing, revising and codifying Foreign Service operational and personnel policies and procedures:

Legal Foundation:

Updating of the Organic Law of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to reflect structural and administrative changes

Revising Rules of Procedure of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to codify changes

Introduce regular rotation of diplomatic staff; the maximum stay in the same country will be five years

Review the franchise policies and benefits for diplomatic staff

Organize training programs for staff and regular training seminars to implement the concepts contained in this foreign policy directive, and introduce a culture of integrity, excellence and high ethical value among the Foreign Service

Rationalize participation in international meetings (define who is eligible and relevant to attend) and evaluation procedures to determine which meetings merit attendance

Strengthen our cultivation of contacts and relationship building

Rationalization and efficient allocation of professional commendations

Develop political reporting processes and procedures for all foreign service officials

IT Improvement:

Computerization and networking of in-house and external IT systems. The way it is currently organized is a threat to our country.

Provide access to online forms, particularly for visa applications and immigration issues. Speed up procedures; and improve reception and first impressions

Digitization of online archives; integration in international networks

3. In support of a top-to-bottom review of current agreements and relationships the following actions should be undertaken.

Determination of the comparative advantages of each partner and strategies to take advantage of a functional cooperation

Develop policy directives to define the Haitian Government’s position on major international issues with instructions to missions on messaging – this is critical as our missions have been voting in direct contradiction to our policies in recent months

Review all agreements and conventions to determine the list of obligations and international schedules to be met

Scan and post internally all the international agreements signed by Haiti, accompanied by the signatures, ratifications and accessions into a central database

4. Standardize our Missions Overseas

Our embassies, missions and consulate should be standardized. Each Embassy and Mission should have the following division:

That division should work with the various ministries, the Center to Facilitate Investment (CFI) and the Haitian private sector to attract foreign direct investments into agriculture and agro business, communications, tourism, and infrastructure. This division will engage in policy dialogue with Executive and Legislative branches to built support for trade agreements.

Political Affairs Division

Will map the country political and policy decision toward Haiti. Profile the actors involved on Haiti policy, built alliance and support within the political system and our Diaspora

Consular and Legal affairs Division

This division will perform the traditional function and services to our community and foreigners interested in going to Haiti. In addition the consular section will be the point place for all information and services provided by other ministries overseas from adoption to pension, from birth certificate to police records. This division will provide better services to the community with an emphasis on elders and handicap people

Diaspora Outreach, Tourism and Cultural Affairs Division

This division will work to promote our culture and values and contributions to the world. This division will also maintain close relations with our Diaspora, develop a database to strengthen that relationship. That division will show to the world our art, literature while supporting all kind of exchange program

IT, Press and Communications

Information technology and the role of social media is key to promote ideas and values. Each embassy and mission needs to have a strong IT, Press and Communications Division. Local press, social media and other communications means should be used in addition to the fact the embassies and missions are well wired and protected.

Administration

V. Regional Priorities

Haiti has many valuable bilateral and multilateral partnerships. While Haiti will maintain its existing international relationships, the focus of our diplomatic engagement should be based upon the following regional priorities:

Strengthen and Balance Relationships with Traditional Allies: This is more of a global – rather than regional – priority. We have solid, traditional allies that anchor our foreign policy and relationships. United States, Venezuela, Chile, Argentina, Dominican Republic, France, Canada, Japan, Germany, Brazil, China, Korea, Senegal, Benin, Israel, Nigeria, Madagascar, Rwanda and Puerto Rico are to be considered our traditional allies. Haiti should work to strengthen its relationships with these allies and ensure that we are partners in these relationships rather than merely recipients as we have been. See Section III.2 for additional direction on this issue.

Dominican Republic: Relations between Haiti and the Dominican Republic are the strongest they have been for decades. In spite of the strong relationships, we have egregious economic balances and limited military threats. The DR exports nearly $1.3 billion in goods to our country, but imports almost nothing from us in return. We are the primary source of their agricultural workforce, and often Haitians incur harsh treatment from their employers and have little legal protections. We need to rebalance our trade and economic relationship while address pressing immigration issues, such as protection of our workforce.

Further, the Dominican military has been acting aggressively at the borders, violating Haitian human rights and, in some cases, crossing the border illegally. They have also been strengthening their military building up a capability that far surpasses our own. It is clear that they constitute a military threat – although not imminent – given the dramatic imbalance. Launching our own Defense Force will contribute to rebalancing the relationship and addressing this national security shortcoming. There are other issues, such as statelessness, where Dominican authorities a trying their best to deny citizenship and legal papers of Dominicans of Haitians descent. In many quarters of the world it is perceived as racism and dangerous. Haitian students in the Dominican Republic should be a focus of our foreign policy.

Build Relationships with Emerging Economies: Previous Administrations have almost completely neglected building relationships with emerging economies, including the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China). In fact, we were unable to secure meetings with Russia, India and China during the September 2011 UNGA meeting. These countries (with the exception of Russia perhaps) are dominating the economic growth globally and will become more and more influential strategically across all international issues. China made only the most minimal contribution to our earthquake recovery, as did India. Both countries will be global leaders in the 21st century (China alone will account for 24% of the global economy) and should be more actively engaged by our government.

Haiti has not signed a trade agreement in 40 years. We have already built relationships with Brazil, but we must address this serious foreign policy shortcoming by developing strategic engagement strategies focused on India and China.

Brazil and Mexico are huge economic opportunities for Haiti. A trade agreement with these two countries that would allow Haiti’s goods to enter duty free on those markets would be good for both sides and attract investors that are moving out of China. In addition while Brazil is in Haiti with MINUSTAH they have instead invested in a refinery in the Dominican Republic and sold military hardware to our neighbors. Our diplomacy toward Brazil must be revamp. Despite rumors coming from the Dominican Republic stating because of a matter of race and culture Brazil and the United States favor their hegemony over Haiti, we Haitians must actively seek expanded cooperation with Brazil on the following issues.

Trade development assistance (duty free access for Haitian apparel in Brazil): With Brazil’s leadership, Haiti can become a major hub for investment in apparel production in the Western Hemisphere.

As a leader in the region, the Government of Brazil promoted an initiative in MERCOSUR in 2010 under which Haiti could export some of its products duty free to MERCOSUR countries. The MERCOSUR commitment included apparel products exported under Chapter 61 and 62, as well as those under heading 6302. However, this commitment has yet to be translated into real action. Unfortunately, exports of Haitian goods to Brazil have dropped an alarming 91% in 2011 compared to 2010.

Every major OECD country provides preferential market access to Haitian products through a different array of programs. The United States trade preferences for Haiti started initially through the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBI) in the 1980s, and were recently deepened and extended by the Haitian Economic Lift Program (HELP) Act of May 2010. One of the key areas of the US preference programs towards Haitian goods is duty-free treatment for qualifying apparel products.

In order to achieve real economic growth in the apparel sector, we propose that Brazil lead the effort to call for a breakthrough change in the trade preferences program granted by major developed countries. The initiative would be to allow Haitian goods to qualify for duty free treatment into Brazil. The initiative would also allow the use of inputs from other countries to be used to make the apparel in Haiti, provided there is reciprocal market access to apparel goods made in Haiti using Brazilian inputs.

Given the current level of attention by major countries to help boost Haiti’s economic recovery, countries like the United States, Canada and the EU may entertain this proposal. However, Brazil’s leadership would be critical to making this a reality.

Access to the apparel market of major developed countries like Brazil and the US would provide investors with an added incentive to locate production facilities in Haiti. Currently most of the apparel made in Haiti is exported to the US under the apparel preferences programs previously described. Having the same access rules for both countries and being able to use inputs from either country will undoubtedly provide Haiti a major boost in investment and jobs.

Energy (cooperation on developing our energy policy): On energy, we are eager to follow Brazil’s global example and become energy independent.

Haiti just issued an energy policy focusing on two departments with the aim of providing electricity to 200,000 families. But this is just not enough in a country where less than 10% of the rural population has access to regular electricity and only 20% in Port-au-Prince.

We would like to build cooperative programs with Brazil to achieve and develop stronger energy policy. Specifically, Brazil could provide technical assistance to Haiti State University (Faculte des Sciences) to develop solar energy research capabilities, or assist the Ministry of TPTC to revamp EDH, or work with the Ministry of Agriculture on the production of ethanol and biodiesel.

We would like to continue our discussions on the area of energy policy to see where we might best work together.

National Security (support for the Haitian Defense Force);

Specifically from Brazil, Haiti should secure the technical assistance of Brazil to build the National Defense Force. Additionally, the equipment currently used by Brazilian troops and others in Haiti should be left behind when MINUSTAH is phased out.

Agriculture and the environment (help modernizing the agricultural sector);

Haiti’s agriculture sector is suffering and unable to feed our people. Our major challenges include lack of irrigation systems, outdated farming techniques and low production due to an inability to preserve food for export. As an agricultural leader, we should seek cooperation with Brazil on a myriad of agricultural issues from irrigation projects to provision of seeds.

Sports (send football trainers to Haiti to build out regional schools and programs).

And finally, Haiti should follow Brazil’s excellence in sports by building out our own capabilities in football. Haiti should build cooperation between our Haitian Soccer Federation and the Haitian Ministry of Sports and Brazilian counterparts. Specifically, Brazil should replace 80 Brazilian soldiers working for MINUSTAH with 80 football trainers to assist the Federation and the Ministry. We envision a program that focuses on building regional schools and training programs.

Reinvigorate Relationships with Europe. We had limited support from our traditional allies in Europe in the wake of the earthquake. Germany, France, Spain, Italy, England, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, and the Norwegian countries made only minimal contributions to recovery. These are traditionally important sources of support for Haiti but the relationships seem to be neglected or simply on autopilot. We need to re-engage with these important countries to seek both support and investment.

Expand Relationships with Regional Leaders: There are many countries in our region that have emerged from similar circumstances to lead the way in political, social and economic development. They have strong Presidents who are similarly blazing a new trail in their respective countries. Colombia has redefined itself and begun to reclaim their international reputation. The Chileans are revamping their policies to attract international investment and have had great success, as are the Puerto Ricans. Building personal relationships with these regional leaders can help inform and improve our overall economic and social policy approaches. As an example of that the Dominicans were able to successfully build up a trade agreement, CAFTA, with four other Central American countries.

Build Relationships in the Middle East: We have very weak and limited contact with the Middle Eastern countries. Clearly this region is a hotbed of democratic reform currently and is going through transition. This is also a region with tremendous oil and resource wealth that has provided only limited financial and technical support to our country. Preval, unfortunately, led us down a controversial path in the Middle East and was pictured with Ahmadinejad at international meetings. We need to reframe our relationships and actively seek assistance and expertise from like-minded nations in this region, including Israel, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Jordan, and Turkey.

VI. Haitian Diaspora a Foreign Policy Tool

The United States, Canada and France are using their citizens with Haitian origin to promote their interest in Haiti. Through the Haitian Diaspora Federation (HDF) and two former US Colonels, a major and a prominent doctor, the State Department is promoting their agenda. The recent push of the “international community” for the publication of the new Haitian constitution allowing Haitian Americans to become involved in politics in Haiti is part of it. This should be done as well by Haiti for this to become mutually beneficial.

Currently in Canada, this exercise is perfectly mutually beneficial for both Haiti and Canada because Michaelle Jean is perfect bridge for the interests of both countries. This is not yet the case in the United States, France and the Bahamas. The Haitian Diaspora can be a powerful tool to lobby foreign governments and help seek economic opportunities. In the United States, there are 26 elected Haitian American officials, who can be effective to the future of our nation. In the US, Canada, France, the Bahamas and couple other countries, if that effort was well organized and supported, Haiti could benefit. Haitians constitutes between 8 to 35% of the population in most of the Caribbean Islands. Within CARICOM Haiti can be a better player in the next ten years if that effort were organized.

VII. Five Year Benchmarks

The following are the main benchmarks by which we will judge the effectiveness of meeting our objectives outlined in Section III. Our Ministry of Foreign Affairs will work to define specific action plans to meet these specific benchmarks.

Objective 1. Restore Haiti’s Reputation Globally

Benchmarks:

Relations of good neighborliness, cooperation, and balanced engagement in commerce with the Dominican Republic and Cuba.

Position Haiti competitively against rising manufacturing economies, including Vietnam, Bangladesh, South Korea, and Colombia.

Positions grounded in our principles on major international issues of interest to Haiti and active participation in major international debates.

Objective 2. Reclaim National Sovereignty

Benchmarks:

Renegotiated Framework of Cooperation with the United Nations to achieve drawdown of MINUSTAH troops.

Engagement with military allies to develop and professionalize the Defense Force.

Secure responsible exit of MINUSTAH beginning in late 2014

The National Haitian Police is professionalized and supporting the judicial system

Securing support from Brazil, Israel, Venezuela, and Chile to built Haiti’s National Defense Force

Objective 3. Balance and Diversify Global Partnerships

Benchmarks:

Strengthening links with the Scandinavian countries, particularly for education and healthcare.

Building a strong relationship with India, an emerging country with relevance to Haiti.

Reproduction adapted from successful experiences in the world, such as the kibbutzim in Israel or the mobilization and organization of the population for development in Rwanda.

Maximizing the policy of the recognition between the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China.

Attract more investment from South Korea.

Build new programs with emerging regional leaders, including Colombia, Puerto Rico and Chile, particularly in strengthening the investment environment

Objective 4. Actively Seek Support for the Socio-Economic Development of Haiti

Benchmarks:

Benefits maximized in terms of technical resources of the United Nations, the Organization of American States, the EU-ACP, the Inter-American Development Bank, World Bank and other multilateral schemes to which Haiti is a party.

Haiti will have a maximum of students and professionals within these organizations.

Follow up on promises for additional support from the UNGA meeting.

Objective 5. Professionalize our Foreign Service

Benchmark:

Foreign Service effectively building relationships and informing foreign policy. (Note: See Section IV. “Reorganization and Coordination” for a full action plan.)

Instituting a culture of excellence and responsibility within the Ministry.

13 fire fighters from Haiti led by Chief Ardouin Zephirin arrived in Rockville for two weeks of fire and rescue training at Montgomery County Fire Rescue Training Academy http://www.rockvilleliving.com/blog/entries/2009_05_firefighters_from_haiti

Stanley Lucas and Richard R. Bowers, Jr, Chief of the Montgomery County (MD) Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS